Physics and Astronomy News Archive: April 2011

Image: Search for Dark Matter Narrowed

Search for Dark Matter Narrowed

Source: NSF   Posted: 4/26/11

Scientists from the XENON collaboration announced the result from their search for the elusive component of our universe known as dark matter. After analyzing one hundred days of data taken with the XENON100 experiment, they see no evidence for the existence of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs).
Image: The Bouncing Gas

The Bouncing Gas

Source: MIT   Posted: 4/26/11

Clouds of gases that bounce off each other could help physicists model the behavior of high-temperature superconductors and other unusual materials.
Image: Discovery may revolutionize hydrogen production

Discovery may revolutionize hydrogen production

Source: EPFL   Posted: 4/26/11

Producing hydrogen in a sustainable way is a challenge and production cost is too high. A team at EPFL has discovered that a molybdenum based catalyst allows hydrogen production at room temperature, and is inexpensive and efficient.
Image: Turning windows into powerplants

Turning windows into powerplants

Source: MIT   Posted: 4/26/11

New technology from MIT could enable a building’s windows to generate power, without blocking the view.
Image: Physicists Discover New Way to Visualize Warped Space and Time

Physicists Discover New Way to Visualize Warped Space and Time

Source: Caltech   Posted: 4/17/11

When black holes slam into each other, the surrounding space and time surge and undulate like a heaving sea during a storm. This warping of space and time is so complicated that physicists haven't been able to understand the details of what goes on—until now.
Image: The ‘quantum magnet’

The ‘quantum magnet’

Source: Harvard   Posted: 4/17/11

Harvard physicists have expanded the possibilities for quantum engineering of novel materials such as high-temperature superconductors by coaxing ultracold atoms trapped in an optical lattice — a light crystal — to self-organize into a magnet, using only the minute disturbances resulting from quantum mechanics.
Image: Scientists Make Magnetic New Graphene Discovery

Scientists Make Magnetic New Graphene Discovery

Source: UMD   Posted: 4/17/11

Researchers have discovered a way to control magnetic properties of graphene that could lead to powerful new applications in magnetic storage and magnetic random access memory.
Image: Solar power without solar cells?

Solar power without solar cells?

Source: UMich   Posted: 4/17/11

A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.